Amanda Ochsner

Summer 2013 Fellow

Amanda Ochsner is a graduate student in the department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Completing her doctoral work with a concentration in Digital Media, she works with Dr. Constance Steinkuehler on her PopCosmo research team. Amanda is also the acting interim research manager at the Games+Learning+Society Center in Madison, WI. Her research interests focus around studying discourse, literacy practices, and social norms in online gaming communities, such as game-based wiki and fan fiction communities. She is also working on a project in collaboration with Microsoft for designing an online space for young women to learn about computational literacies, game design, and computer programming. Before beginning graduate school, Amanda worked in the games press as an editor for IGN’s Green Pixels site, which focused on creating content for mainstream gamers. She also did freelance writing for IGN’s family-focused site, What They Play. Her personal website is www.amandaochsner.com.